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Thaksin says he wants to bury the hatchet with rivals
Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday it was time to bury the hatchet with his enemies and allow Thailand to move forward after nearly three years of political strife.
- Reuters
- Published: 21:18 March 11, 2008
Bangkok: Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Tuesday it was time to bury the hatchet with his enemies and allow Thailand to move forward after nearly three years of political strife.
"Let bygones be bygones. We are moving ahead. Let's move the country forward," Thaksin told foreign correspondents a day before he was due to face corruption charges at the Supreme Court.
Thaksin, who has had nearly $2 billion (Dh7.3 billion) of his family assets frozen, said he was innocent of the charges related to his wife's purchase at the auction of a prime piece of land in Bangkok owned by the Bank of Thailand.
"We did nothing wrong," he said. "I will just go there and deny all the charges."
The billionaire, who returned from exile last month after he was ousted in a bloodless 2006 coup, and 46 top officials were also charged on Monday with illegal use of state lottery funds.
The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it would decide on May 14 whether to hear the case, which could force Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee and two junior ministers to step aside temporarily.
Thaksin said he was focused on clearing his name and insisted he would devote his remaining years to family, charities, teaching and running his English Premier League soccer club, Manchester City.
"I have done a lot for my country in six years as prime minister and that is enough. It's time for me to call it quits and give time to my family," said Thaksin, who turns 59 in July.
But few Thais believe - or want to believe - Thaksin will stay out of the political fray for long after his supporters formed a coalition government following a December election. Already the People's Alliance for Democracy, which led street protests against Thaksin which culminated in the coup, has warned him not to use his political clout to exact revenge on opponents or sway graft cases against him and his wife.
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